


Agapanthus:  Love Letter

by misakimei



Category: Karneval (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Confessions, Dorks in Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Love Confessions, Love Letters, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 06:53:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15286128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misakimei/pseuds/misakimei
Summary: Hanahaki disease AUThe genus name, "Agapanthus" is derived from two Greek words: "agape." which means "love," and "anthos," which means "flower". Taken together, the agapanthus is the flower of love."He tried to conceal a small cough in the palm of his hand. When he lowered it, he caught a glimpse of a small blue flower, its delicate petals stained red from the blood. A phrase he had read once popped into his mind. 'Love and a coughcannot be concealed. Even a small cough. Even a small love.'





	1. Chapter 1

“Hanahaki Disease is an illness borne of one-sided love, causing flowers to form and grow in the lungs of the unrequited, the petals coughed up with increasing frequency. If the love is not returned, the flowers filling the patient’s chest will eventually prove fatal.”

Agapanthus:  
The genus name, "Agapanthus" is derived from two Greek words: "agape." which means "love," and "anthos," which means "flower". Taken together, the agapanthus is the flower of love."

In the traditional language of flowers, agapanthus means 'Love Letter'

•

 _The rose-coloured sky stretched wide above and around him. Hues of pale orange and deep violet chased each other around the crimson setting sun, slowly disappearing into the ocean. Yogi sat on the warm metal roof of the flying ship, hair fluttering around his head, eyes half closed, enjoying the cool breeze and the bright light surrounding him._  
_The waves rolled below the winged ship, foam glittering and shimmering._  
_"Yogi."_  
_Someone was sitting at his side. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe._  
_That voice... If only he could turn his head to see who was beside him..._  
_"You're so beautiful, Yogi." Whispered the voice. A painful feeling spread in his chest._  
_He caught a glimpse of locks of black hair. Then a warm hand slid in his._  
_"Gareki...-kun?"_  
_Gareki leaned his head on Yogi's shoulder: "I..." His voice faded and everything went black._  
  
A sharp pain in Yogi's back made him jump.  
He found himself sitting up in his bed, his lungs burning. Suddenly, he felt that he couldn't breathe. He coughed once, but the sensation only increased. He was choking, he thought with increasing horror.  
He coughed again and again, his body convulsed and shook with the effort, yet no relief came.  
Just when he thought he was going to die, and is face had turned scarlet, he felt something moving. He doubled over and coughed one more time, keeping a hand over his mouth. Something wet dripped over his palm. He opened his eyes and saw that it was blood, mixed with something he didn't recognise.  
"This can't be good." Was his first coherent thought, soon followed by: "No way I'm letting Akari-san visit me."  
Another coughing fit interrupted him. This time he could clearly feel that something else, beside blood, was rising in his throat.  
He couldn't hold it down anymore, and coughed it out onto his bedsheets.  
Yogi stared at it silently, breathing hard.  
"Oh, damn it."

"It's not that serious!" shrieked Yogi. The black sheep tilted its head. "There's blood. You're hurt. You're hurt, baaaa"  
"It's nothing to worry about, Hitsuji-san! Don't you see? I can walk and move just fine! It was just a small cut, there's no need to tell Hirato-san... Or Akari-san."  
The sheep ignored him and walked around the room, looking for traces of blood.  
"Ahh won't you look at the time! I'll miss breakfast! Bye Hitsuji-san!"  
The sheep was distracted, and Yogi sprinted out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. However, after a few seconds he heard the door creak open and the sound of the black sheep chasing after him, bouncing on its fluffy legs.  
Yogi turned around to make sure it wouldn't catch up with him. "Running in the corridors is not permitted! This is not an emergency! Running in the corridors is not permitted!" The little sheep's voice echoed in the corridor.  
Yogi paid it no attention; he turned the corner and crashed into someone coming from the opposite direction.  
They both lost their balance, falling to the floor. A muffled "Oof" came from under Yogi's chest.  
"Idiot! What are you doing, running in the corridors like this! Watch where you're going!"  
Yogi froze, then he rolled on the floor with a groan. The pain in his upper back and chest had returned.  
"Ah, Gareki-kun, I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?"  
"No running! No running! Baaa" cried the small sheep, its purple hat bouncing on its head with each little jump.  
"It's nothing. Now get up, or Nai will eat all of your chocolate bars. Why is that thing running after you?" Gareki asked, getting to his feet and holding out his hand.  
The sheep ran up to Yogi and started poking his arms and chest, looking for wounds, ignoring Gareki. Yogi stared at Gareki's outstretched hand. Something fluttered in his chest.  
Then the coughing began.  
"Oi, you alright?"  
Yogi turned the other way, shaking with the effort of keeping everything down.  
Gareki faltered, and let his hand fall at his side.  
"Do I have to call Akira? You look..."  
"NO!" Yelled Yogi. Then he collected himself and said, in a calmer tone: "I'm fine, Gareki-kun. I just have a cough."  
Gareki hesitated. "Get up then." He took a step closer to Yogi, who immediately moved away, blushing. Without looking at Gareki's face, he got up and walked away, towards the breakfast room. When he thought Gareki couldn't see him, he tried to conceal a small cough in the palm of his hand. When he lowered it, he caught a glimpse of a small blue flower, its delicate petals stained red with blood. A phrase he had read somewhere popped into his mind. 'Love and a cough  
cannot be concealed. Even a small cough. Even a small love."


	2. Uncomfortable truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukumo wants to help

"Tsukumo-chan, how do you get people to like you?"  
Tsukumo's violet eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean? Everyone already likes you, Yogi."  
Yogi avoided her gaze, looking around the empty library. They were sitting on the comfortable couch next to the window, two steaming cups of tea had been placed on the table in front of them.  
"That's not true." He said vaguely, fiddling with the purple bracelet on his wrist.  
"I just don't understand what you mean, Yogi-" but she stopped abruptly when she looked into his eyes.  
"It's not true that everyone likes me, Tsukumo-chan." Yogi whispered sadly. "And I don't want everyone to like me. Just..."  
'Oh, now I see.' thought Tsukumo. She smiled softly, taking a sip from her cup, then finished his sentence: "Just one person would be enough, right?"  
Yogi lit up, thankful he didn't have to explain.  
"I knew you'd understand, Tsukumo-chan!" He cried out. "Then tell me, how did you get Iva-nee to like you?"  
Tsukumo blushed bright red. "A-Actually..." She stuttered, losing her composure "I don't know. I didn't do anything. It just... Sort of happened."  
Yogi's enthusiasm died down. "Oh."  
"B-But! A good start would be getting to know each other! If I'm not wrong, it's... It's Gareki we're talking about, is it not?-" Yogi nodded sheepishly, too embarrassed to say it out loud.  
"And you think he doesn't like you?"  
Yogi sighed. "I _know_ he doesn't like me."  
Tsukumo shook her head, swirling the golden tea in her cup. "His cold demeanor is just an act. I believe that deep down, he cares a lot. About Nai, and about you."  
"You can't know that, Tsukumo-chan!" He protested. "He never even calls me by my name! That must mean that he hates me, right?"  
Tsukumo frowned, placing the cup back on its saucer a bit too forcefully. "Nonsense, Yogi. I think you should talk to him. I mean _really_ talk to him, and you have to be honest."  
Yogi was quiet for a while. Tsukumo stared at him, waiting for answer wondering what he was thinking about with such a serious expression.  
Yogi looked like he was about to speak, but before he could do so, a coughing fit overwhelmed him and left him gasping for air.  
"Yogi! What's wrong?!"  
The cup she was holding fell and shattered on the floor. Tea stained the carpet and shards of ceramic flew everywhere. Tsukumo paid them no attention. Wide-eyed, she stared at Yogi's hands, now full of beautiful blue and lilac flowers.  
"Yogi!"  
The boy glanced at her, eyes full of tears. "Tsukumo-chan... I'm sorry that... I tried to hide it from you."  
"How long has it been going on?" She asked, concern lacing her voice.  
"Two days."  
She gasped. "And it's this bad already? Yogi, we have to tell Akari-san... It's too dangerous to wait!"  
Yogi coughed again and let the flowers fall to the floor. When he recovered enough to speak, he yelled: "But I don't want to! I don't want to forget!" A few teardrops landed on the velvet couch. Tsukumo slid closer to her friend and took his hand in hers. "We'll find a solution... Please don't cry, Yogi. Come, let's clean this up before anyone else sees." She knew that she had to act quickly. It was clear that Yogi didn't want anyone to find out, since he had been very careful to hide his symptoms. The library wasn't going to stay empty much longer.  
Yogi couldn't seem to move. Tsukumo jumped off the couch and kneeled on the carpet to pick up the flowers. She gathered as many as she could in her handkerchief. She would think of how to dispose of theml later. 'What matters now' she thought 'is not to leave anything behind."  
Yogi was looking at her with an inscrutable expression, half thoughtful, half embarrassed.  
"Let's go, Yogi. You should stay in your room until you feel better."  
-  
Tsukumo had left his room a few minutes ago: she was searching for a place to dispose of the flowers, so that the others wouldn't find out. It wasn't easy, given that the ship was bustling with activity. 'She's such a great friend..." Thought Yogi absentmindedly.  
He stared thoughtfully at the open book on his bed. The night before, he had searched the whole library for it. It was the only one that held accurate medical information on the disease.  
"The victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love." Stated the first paragraph.  
Yogi already knew that. Everybody knew. That's why he had to keep his condition a secret. Tsukumo had understood all too well: Yogi couldn't stand the thought of everyone on the ship knowing that he had fallen in love with Gareki- no, that wasn't quite right. He couldn't stand the thought of everyone knowing that Gareki didn't love him back. He constantly felt a tightness in his chest, as if his heart had become too heavy. Although maybe, he thought, maybe it was just the weight of the voluminous flowers growing in his lungs.  
"The disease is cured when the beloved returns the feelings (romantic love only), or when the victim dies. It can be cured through surgical removal, but when the infection is removed, the victim's romantic feelings for their beloved also disappear."  
Yogi closed the book abruptly and threw it on the floor. The heavy object landed with a thud. Yogi felt the inexplicable need to break something. The empty glass on his bedside table looked all too tempting. Without thinking, he reached out and, with just his fingertips, he gave it a push. The glass toppled over and fell. It broke with a satisfying crash, and shards scattered around the room.  
After a few seconds, Yogi heard quick footsteps in the corridor; the door swung open, revealing a distressed-looking Tsukumo. The girl looked around the room, her eyes filled with worry. Her expression relaxed when she saw that Yogi was sitting unharmed on his bed. Her gaze then shifted to the broken glass on the floor.  
"You spend too much time in that cat costume." She said. Yogi blinked, confused at first, then erupted in laughter.  
Tsukumo carefully closed the door, smiling a little. 'If Yogi is laughing, it means he's feeling a bit better."  
"Tsukumo-chan is so funny. I'm so glad you're here." He grabbed one of the plushies that covered his bed and rested his head in top of the toy. "I'm so glad you're my friend, Tsukumo-chan." He whispered after a while, looking at her feet.  
Tsukumo felt even more determined to help him.  
"Don't worry, Yogi, we'll figure this out." She said confidently. "I'll talk to Nai, to try to find out how Gareki really feels. You stay here and rest, alright?"  
Yogi looked at her dumbfounded.  
"Ehh? Tsukumo-chan, you're the best- ack!" He coughed a couple of times, and a blue flower landed on his bed.  
Tsukumo's smile faded as she picked it up. "By the way... What kind of flowers are they? I've never seen anything like them. They're so pretty..."  
Yogi wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I don't know either. Maybe I should look it up."  
"I'll pick up a botanical book from the library, then. I'm sure we have one. I'll go immediately. We have no time to lose."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, if you liked this chapter please leave kudos &/or comment! (=ↀωↀ=)  
> If you want, you can message me on tumblr at: https://mechanical-rabbit.tumblr.com/  
> Or write your tumblr username in the comments! I'd love to follow more anime blogs <3
> 
> ~Mei

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first fanfiction and I'm dedicating it to this wonderful anime/manga because it deserves more love. (And let's be real, Yogi deserves more love)
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, if you liked it please leave kudos! Comments are greatly appreciated and give me the motivation to write the following chapters! You can also just leave a nice message for Yogi and let him know how much you like him, he loves that (=ↀωↀ=)
> 
> ~Mei


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